


Seventeen Years and Counting

by chasingvictoryx



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game), The Walking Dead (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6615823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingvictoryx/pseuds/chasingvictoryx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's nice to meet you, Kenny," she smiled as she grabbed a few papers and a clipboard, and began writing some things down.</p><p>"You too, Miss... Uh... 'Dee Click'."</p><p>Katjaa couldn't stop the light chuckle from escaping her lips as Kenny butchered her last name. She was very used to that by now away, and she dismissed it.</p><p>"You can just call me Katjaa if you'd like," she offered. "I think it would be much easier for you to pronounce."</p><p>Kenny tried to hide his chagrin, and nodded. "Right. Katjaa it is."</p><p>The fisherman was handed the clipboard, and Katjaa told him what he needed to fill out. As he did so, she couldn't help but ask him, "so, mind telling me how you managed to acquire an octopus?"</p><p>--</p><p>This will be a series of KenJaa inspired drabbles. Despite how old the game is now and how little this pairing is talked about/appreciated, I will never grow tired of them, and thus, will try my best to write how different snippets of their lives until I feel like wrapping everything up. Until then, I hope you enjoy them!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's A Pleasure To Meet You

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, these are my KenJaa drabbles! I love this pairing so much and want to spread my love for them as much as possible! I hope to give you all my perceived insight into their lives and that you'll enjoy it! If any of you have any suggestions for a drabble idea in the future, please don't hesitate to let me know!
> 
> I don't have a beta, so I'm sure some mistakes are bound to slip through the cracks, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoy these little drabbles regardless!
> 
> *This drabble's original publication date was July 30, 2013, but at that time I only used Fanfiction (dot) net and posted it up there.

"De Clercq! Get back to work! Those dogs will still be there once you're finished!" Katjaa felt herself jump in her skin, and her cheeks flushed an embarrassing shade of pink.

"Y-yes ma'am, sorry!" she scrambled to her feet, and hurried back to her desk where a nice, large stack of paperwork awaited her. When Katjaa first started this internship, she hadn't been expecting for there to be so many papers that needed filling out. Sure, she knew she'd have some, but she had mostly been hoping that she'd be able to get some actual hands on experience.

So far, however, she hadn't been doing much of that at all. Every once in a while, she was allowed to assist the veterinarian whenever an animal was brought in, but those days always seemed far and few in between.

"Brianna, I'm going out to lunch," the vet called to her secretary as she set about gathering her things and moved to leave the office. This caught Katjaa's attention, and she watched as the more experienced woman left the building.

She let her pale blue eyes linger on the door that her 'boss' had just exited through. She sighed, leaning forward on her desk with her face cupped in her hand.

This sucked.

With the vet gone, that meant that there was no chance of any hands on experience any time soon. She'd be stuck doing paperwork all day knowing her luck…

...

"I need to see the vet immediately!" A strange, southern accent sounded foreign to the Belgian's ears.

"I-I'm sorry sir, the vet isn't seeing anyone at the moment, but she'll be—"

The man pressed on anyway. "B-but, it'll die if I don't see the vet right now!"

"I'm sorry, sir, I truly am, but—"

"What seems to be the problem?" Katjaa, who could no longer resist the temptation, quietly stepped into the room, and stood, watching from afar, slowly but surely coming closer to get a better look at the situation.

"O-oh, it's nothing Miss. De Clercq—" Brianna started, only to quickly be cut off by the man.

"Please," he started and, upon laying eyes on her, started approaching, showing her the octopus he was carrying in the pail with him. "Can you help me out here? It'll die otherwise!"

Katjaa's eyes widened in surprise; no one had ever brought in an octopus before!

The secretary opened her mouth to interject again, but Katjaa cut her off.

"I'd be more than happy to help you!" she sent him a kind smile. "Please, follow me right this way!"

She didn't dare turn her gaze to meet Brianna's, and instead, led the stranger into an empty room, taking the octopus from him, and setting up a tank to put it in.

Katjaa had never done anything with _octopi_ before, but she wasn’t stupid; she could venture a guess. They weren’t like a cat or dog, but how much harder could it be?

After getting the octopus squared away and gently getting it into the tank, she turned to the Floridian native, deciding to take this opportunity to take in the man’s appearance.

He was soaked from head to toe. His clothes clung to his body and salt water dripped off of him and onto the floor. He was quite easily creating one massive puddle from the very spot he was standing.

"O-oh, uh, here, let me just—" Katjaa left the room for a few seconds, only to return with a tower of towels stacked in her arms. Once she set them down, she handed a few to the soaking man. "These should help you dry off some, I hope."

"Thanks," he smiled gratefully at her, and took the towels, quickly trying to soak up as much of the water as he could.

Katjaa put a few more on the floor, dabbing up the puddle. Almost immediately, the strange man crouched down to help her.

"Oh, you don't have to help, I can do it myself—"

"—It's no problem. I don't mind helpin'," he waved her words away.

"Well, thank you," Katjaa murmured quietly with a light smile. "You know... I don't believe I've caught your name, _Mister..._ " she trailed off, looking over at him, as if waiting for him to fill in the blank.

The Floridian man looked up at her, and flashed a grin. "Name's Kenny Martin. Ya don't need to bother callin' me _‘mister’_ though— Kenny works just fine."

Finally, they managed to mop up the puddle of water on the floor and Katjaa set the towels over to the side to take care of later.

"It's nice to meet you, Kenny," she smiled as she grabbed a few papers and a clipboard, and began writing some things down.

"You too, Miss... Uh... _'Dee Click'._ "

Katjaa couldn't stop the light chuckle from escaping her lips as Kenny butchered her last name. She was very used to that by now away, and she dismissed it.

"You can just call me Katjaa if you'd like," she offered. "I think it would be much easier for you to pronounce."

Kenny tried to hide his chagrin and nodded. "Right. Katjaa it is."

The fisherman was handed the clipboard, and Katjaa told him what he needed to fill out. As he did so, she couldn't help but ask him, "So, mind telling me how you managed to acquire an _octopus?_ "

"Oh," Kenny looked up from the paper, and replied, "I uh, I'm a fisherman; I was out on my boat, when I caught the lil guy, and he seemed hurt, an' fer some reason I couldn't just leave 'em out there like that, so..." He trailed off, and Katjaa nodded.

"Oh, I see..." She’d keep to herself how odd it seemed for a fisherman of all people not to just keep the octopus for later. She was sure he had his reasons though, and she wouldn’t judge him.

A small silence grew between the two, and Kenny sat staring over at the blonde intern, as opposed to filling out the information attached to the clipboard. She was nice enough, and he supposed that he probably could fill this stuff out in no time and be on his way, but...something inside him wanted him to stay.

"Are you finished?" Katjaa asked as she caught him staring.

Kenny cleared his throat and tried to keep his cheeks from turning red. "O-oh, uhhh...almost."

He stared intently down at the paper, and finally managed to fill it out completely. Handing it back to Katjaa, he stood there for a few moments longer. "Need me to do anything else?"

"Hm, no, I think I've got everything from you that I need for now," Katjaa responded idly as she glanced over his information to make sure that he’d filled out everything correctly.

Still, Kenny didn't move, and he cleared his throat again. "Y-ya know... With an accent like that, I don't suppose yer from around these parts, are ya?"

Katjaa looked up from the clipboard in her hands and chuckled a little. "No, I moved here from Belgium with my family a few years back. It's nothing like it is here..." America was so much different and sometimes it was hard for her to adjust to. She was still adjusting, even after all these years.

"I reckon it's a lot colder there than it is here, eh?" Kenny let out a small chuckle of his own. "I don't think a hot-blooded Floridian like myself would be able to take it."

"Oh, it wasn't so bad, but it was definitely a lot colder there than here,” she mused, “it’s always so hot and muggy, I don’t know how you stand it. Even now I don’t care for it."

"Yeah, ya get used to it, I guess."

"Ha, I doubt I'll ever get used to it."

Another silence fell between the two, and finally, Kenny started ever-so-slowly backing up towards the door.

Katjaa watched him as he started to make his leave— well, until he stopped again.

"S-So... I just gotta know... Is there uh... A _‘Mr. Dr. Katjaa’_ at home?"

The question caught Katjaa off guard, and she could only stare, mouth slightly agape, and a blush soon flushing across her pale cheeks.

"W-well, no, there isn't. I'm... I'm single."

This seemed to make Kenny's features brighten ever-so-slightly, but it was still evident that he was nervous. Nevertheless, he decided to just put it all out there.

"S-so uh... In that case, would you maybe like to go out sometime? For dinner maybe?"

There he went, catching Katjaa off guard yet again with his questions.

"Well, um," she met his gaze, and after a moment, a warm smile slowly began to form on her lips, "sure, I'd really like that, Kenny."

"R-really?" Her response seemed to greatly surprise Kenny, and he caught himself before he could become anymore excited. "I-I mean, uh—cool, that's great!"

Before the Floridian finally left, the two exchanged numbers, and Kenny told the blonde that he would call her sometime soon to set up a time and a date. He strutted by Brianna, and flashed her a grin and waved as he made his way out the door.

When he finally approached his truck, he did a quick "victory dance" (not giving a care in the world who saw it— well, maybe other than Katjaa), and slipped into his truck before finally pulling out of the parking lot and driving away.

Back inside the office, Katjaa found herself reading over the digits scribbled down on a piece of scratch paper over and over. Her lips curled upward in a wide smile as she lightly traced over the chicken scratch that was Kenny’s handwriting.

As much as she hated to admit it, the feeling bubbling up inside her made her all giddy. She stuffed the paper into her pocket, and glanced over to the octopus in the tank next to her.

Perhaps things would start to look up from here—

" _DE CLERCQQQQQQ!!!!!_ " she could hear the vet’s booming voice from the next room over, making her jump in her skin.

Well, either way, she had a date, and it was worth whatever her boss was going to throw at her. At least, she had to keep telling herself that.


	2. First Date Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second drabble I wrote! They won't all be in chronological order like this, haha. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter and try not to cringe too hard at the awkwardness between these two.
> 
> Once again, I don't have a beta, so there's bound to be some mistakes that slipped through the cracks.
> 
> *The original publication date of this drabble was sometime back in 2013, and I've revamped it a little since then, but it was originally posted on fanfiction (dot) net.

It had been about a week or so since the incident with Kenny and the octopus. Needless to say, Katjaa had gotten into much trouble with her boss, and was stuck with doing so much paperwork that her hands were covered in paper cuts, and it felt as if they would fall off. It upset her that she hadn't gotten an ounce of hands on experience since that day, but she had to keep reminding herself: it was worth it. Between saving an octopus and meeting a seemingly nice, albeit awkward guy, how could it not be?

Speaking of which, she and Kenny had exchanged phone calls throughout the week and Kenny had been back to the clinic more times than she could count, for one reason or another. Honestly, it seemed like the man would do just about whatever he could to see her. Though Katjaa found it to be quite flattering, she couldn't help but fear that he would get in some kind of trouble eventually for showing up so frequently.

But, this time when he showed up, it would be for no other reason then to pick Katjaa up for their date. Just the thought of it left Katjaa feeling rather giddy.

"Why are you so happy today Miss. De Clercq?"

Katjaa looked up from her seat at her desk. It was Brianna.

"Oh, no reason really," she replied dismissively.

"Oh really?" The secretary rose a curious eyebrow.

"Yes," Katjaa replied again, "why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason really," Brianna waved it off with a shrug. "You just seemed to be in a better mood than usual, that's all... Just figured there'd be a reason for that."

"Oh, I guess I didn't notice..." Katjaa left it at that, truthfully haven't not even realized that Brianna had been paying her _that_ much attention in the first place.

A small silence fell between the two before Brianna finally cleared her throat and spoke.

"Well, Dr. Schmidt has already gone home, and you should be packing up, yourself."

"Oh, that's right!" Katjaa hastily began gathering up her things. She'd gotten so wrapped up her thoughts that she'd lost track of time.

She hadn't told Brianna that she was happier than usual because she'd be going out on her first date with Kenny tonight. She didn't deem it necessary; not like it was any of Brianna's business what she did with her personal life anyway.

Grabbing her bags—both her purse and a small, mesh draw-string backpack—she excused herself to the bathroom.

Due to her date tonight, she knew that she wouldn't have time to go home and change. Kenny was supposed to swing by the clinic and pick her up. So, keeping that in mind that morning she had shoved a change of clothes into the mesh bag. The _last_ and most _least appealing_ thing she could think to wear on a date with someone was her scrubs.

After entering the bathroom, she quickly changed out of her scrubs and into the outfit she had packed. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a pretty floral blouse, a nice pair of blue jeans and a cute pair of strappy sandals.

"Well, I guess this is as good as I'll ever look," Katjaa murmured to herself as she fixed her bangs for what was probably the tenth time in two minutes. 

Only seconds later, she heard Brianna calling to her from the other side of the door.

"Miss. De Clercq, There's someone here to see you!"

Katjaa immediately knew that it was Kenny.

"I'll be out in just a moment!"

Katjaa checked herself over again, and finally, after futzing around with her hair a final time, she decided that she looked presentable.

Upon stepping out of the bathroom, and slinging her bags over her shoulder, she could already feel the butterflies beginning to form in her stomach.

This would be the first date she'd have been on in a while and she felt quite nervous, so when she finally stepped into the waiting room, she hoped that she didn't look like a nervous wreck.

As soon as Kenny laid eyes on her, a wide grin found its way onto his lips. His cheeks were just as flushed as Katjaa's, showing that he was just as nervous, if not more.

She looked absolutely stunning, and he suddenly felt very under-dressed. He was wearing one of his nicer button up shirts, but regular worn blue jeans and his beat up tennis shoes.

"Wow, you look beautiful—" he blurted out, only making them both blush even more.

"O-oh, thank you," Katjaa smiled softly, "and you don't look too bad yourself."

Meanwhile, Brianna stood behind them by her desk, with a bemused smile on her face. Katjaa feared that she'd make some smart remark, but when she didn't, Katjaa whispered a silent thank you to what ever higher power was up there.

"Shall we go now?" Kenny finally asked after clearing his throat.

"Where are we going?" Katjaa quirked an eyebrow.

"There's a little family owned restaurant not too far away from here, and let me tell you," he rose his eyebrows at her while grinning; putting emphasis on his next words, "best. Tilapia. Ever."

Katjaa couldn't help but chuckle at his actions, moving to stuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she replied, "that sounds nice."

By now the two were already on their way out the door, but not before hearing Brianna calling after them, "have fun you two!"

Katjaa could only feel herself blushing more, but turned back for a moment to wave good bye to the secretary in unison with Kenny.

Upon entering the parking lot, Katjaa made a quick pit-stop to her car to put her mesh bag with her scrubs in it inside—there wasn't much use for carrying it around anymore anyway—before making her way back over to Kenny.

After the two made their way across the parking lot, Kenny rushed over to the passenger side and opened the door for Katjaa to step up into the truck. Ushering out a light 'thanks' as he closed the door for her, she watched as he hurried over to the driver's side, jumping inside.

He turned the key and flipped on the headlights before placing the truck into gear. He contorted his body to look behind him as he backed out the parking space. There weren't but only his truck, and Kat and Brianna's vehicles left in the lot, but better safe than sorry.

"You know," Katjaa spoke up after a moment, "I don't think I've ever actually had tilapia before..."

Kenny glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye, a grin on his lips. "Well, trust me, you'll love it!"

He changed gears and flipped the wheel wildly to set the truck straight again. The left blinker filled the vehicle with a quiet ticking noise as he looked the entire road over before speeding out into the surface streets.

—

Before long, Kenny pulled into a new parking lot and set his truck back into park, turning off the ignition. He hopped out the driver's side and jogged his way over to the passenger's side to open the door for Kat and helped her down from his truck.

He knew Katjaa was plenty capable of stepping out of his old clunker truck, but he knew plenty of people who had fell or tripped in or out of his truck in the past. … Sure, they were typically drunk, but it was a case of better safe than sorry here.

The restaurant was close by and Kenny kept his pace to walk right beside her and soon noticed how nice she smelt. Thankfully Katjaa couldn't read minds, or Kenny's thoughts—which at the moment were those 'I wanna smell your hair' she smelt so good kinda thoughts—might've creeped her out a bit, and leading to embarrassment from the Cajun. He realized how off track his thoughts went and quickly let the ideas drop as he opened the door to the restaurant for Katjaa.

The place was decently sized and only somewhat popular that night with every third table holding a few people. The lighting was dim, with colorful lights against plain, dark walls.

The hostess was there as soon as they stepped in to lead them over to a booth in the main dining room.

Upon being seated, Katjaa gazed around the room. It had a cozy, welcoming feel about it. It was nice, but not super fancy. It was perfect.

The Belgian woman smiled over at the Floridian before letting her eyes wander around the building once more. "This place seems perfect."

Kenny grinned at hearing her opinion of the place. "Oh? Well I'm glad to hear you approve. Been comin' here for years now, figured like a good place to go."

Upon having the menus placed in front of them, the waitress left them to decide—only after asking what they wanted to drink—and the two began to skim over the menu. Though, ultimately, the both decided on the tilapia.

Only a few short minutes after the two decided on the tilapia, the waitress swung back by the table to collect their menus and take their order, handing them the beverages they had ordered in the process.

Suddenly, Kenny felt naked without the menu to hide behind. He took a sip of his soda, and then swirled the the straw around in the glass nervously.

"So... Uh... How long have ya been a vet?"

The question suddenly reminded Katjaa that Kenny actually thought that she was an actual veterinarian. This brought a light flush to her cheeks, and she found herself fidgeting with her napkin.

"Well... Actually... When you came in that day, the vet had gone out for lunch... I'm actually... Just an intern," she still refused to meet his gaze. "I'm still going to school to be a vet, but I'm almost finished."

Kenny had stayed quiet for a minute, letting her words sink in. Finally, he chuckled, and she looked up at him.

"Y'know, that's actually pretty cool that yer working so hard to become a vet," he paused to take a sip of his drink and added, "and that must've meant that you really wanted to meet me when I came in with that octopus."

He was only teasing of course, and Katjaa knew this. She decided she'd try to humor him with a laugh, and replied, "Oh yes... Well, you know, I really just couldn't help myself." Another laugh, and she spoke again. "But what about you? How long have you been a fisherman?"

"Well, I'm actually a rookie," Kenny admitted, abashed. "Fishin' is a family thing, though. I helped my dad out on his boat on for as long as I could remember. I just grew up and it was all I knew. But it's real different when it's just you out there. Six months ago my dad had a big stroke that I don't think he's gotten over yet, still. I took his boat and continued on as my own man." He shrugged and then smirked, though somehow not in a cocky way. "It's enough to pay the bills, but ain't that good. Lotsa rookie mistakes."

Katjaa frowned a bit at hearing him inform her that his father had a stroke, and even more so that he thought that the man still hadn't gotten over it. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." she paused for a moment as another thought registered, "but... Don't you have any siblings to go out there with you? It must get lonely out there by yourself..."

Suddenly she wondered if Kenny had any siblings at all. She had a younger sister—by five years to be exact—but she was up in Tennessee with their parents. While they had once all lived in Florida together, her parents managed to find more work up in Tennessee, and while Katjaa was twenty, and therefore old enough to live on her own, Ketsia wasn't. Katjaa had decided to stay down in Florida and, as she looked across the table at Kenny, she was glad she did.

"Well, actually no," Kenny responded to her question, breaking her out of her thoughts. "No siblings. My parents thought I was enough of a handful, so they were done after me." He laughed, making Katjaa crack a tiny smile.

"I bet," she laughed lightly, "I think I'd be just as content with a dog."

"You never want kids?"

"Well... I guess I've never really given it much thought. Eventually... One day... Maybe..." she pondered the thought. She was too young to be thinking about having kids right now. "I wouldn't want to have any, anytime soon though..."

Cracking a smile, it was obvious that Kenny was in agreement with that.

—

Finally, dinner arrived and the two ate, talking about nothing in particular as they did. More talk of families, careers, and how good the food was, smaller, more trivial things like favorite colors and movies, too.

Kenny seemed to love orange and sports—more specifically football—while Katjaa had always been a fan of yellow, and _not_ a fan of anything sports related.

"I wish I could cook the tilapia like they do here, y'know?" Kenny spoke up after a while. "I mean, I'm not too handy in the kitchen, but I can grill. Usually tuna... Ya ever had grilled tuna?"

Katjaa offered a light shrug, canting her head to the side slightly. "Maybe at one point or another... But I wonder if I could cook some tilapia... I bet I could probably make it like they do here."

At this, Kenny chuckled. "You think you can cook tilapia like they do here? I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go home. I'm keeping you," he laughed at his own joke, but soon found himself feeling nervous again.

Katjaa could feel her cheeks flushing. "Well, I could try at least, and what's this I hear? My, my... Only our first date and you're already asking me to move in with you?" she chuckled a bit, signifying that she was only joking, but still, two could play at that game.

Her joke had only made Kenny's cheeks begin to turn red, and he laughed as well, albeit a bit awkwardly. Finally, he cleared his throat and offered, "well, if you ever want to get together again, yer welcome to come to my place and have a little potluck? You cook yer tilipia and I grill up some tuna? Share 'em?"

This date hadn't ended yet and he already had the gall to ask for another, but luckily enough, Katjaa didn't mind.

"Sure," she answered finally, smiling gently at the thought. "I'd really like that, Kenny."

"R-really?" Kenny had asked, unable to mask his surprise.

"Of course," Katjaa replied, "it'd be nice."

Inwardly, the man did another victory dance just as he had a week prior to this. "Cool, I'll have to keep that in mind then."

—

It wasn't long before the two had finished their meals, and Kenny hurriedly reached for the bill when it arrived to pay (ignoring Katjaa's protests), but at least allowing her to leave the tip.

The overly cheerful waitress took his card and the bill, only to return a few short minutes later, thanking the two and telling them to have a nice night.

They thanked her, then exited the restaurant, and headed back over to Kenny's truck.

Once again, he helped her inside, then went over to get in on the driver's side.

The ride back to the vet's office was a quiet one. The two held idle conversation, but in the back of both of their minds (more so Kenny's than Katjaa's) they kept thinking about just what might happen when Kenny went to drop her off at her car. It was a no brainer how dates usually ended...

With a kiss.

But, it was only the first date, and people didn't usually kiss on a first date, right? Maybe they shouldn't either.

—

The date had been quite nice, but per usual, all good things must come to an end, and the end was drawing nearer. Kenny and Katjaa could both see the clinic coming into view, and finally, the Floridian pulled back into the parking lot and parked his truck, turning the ignition off.

He once again helped Katjaa out of the truck—he was doing this a lot, to the point where he almost worried that he was overdoing it—and walked to the only car left on the lot— _her's._

Upon approaching the vehicle, Katjaa paused a moment, digging around in her pocket to find her keys. Even after she did, she just stood there for a moment. Turning to look at Kenny, she smiled.

"I just wanted to say thanks for a wonderful evening."

Kenny returned the smile. "Really I should thank you for turnin' it into one," he scuffed the ground with his shoe, "I had a great time."

"Me too." She still hadn't moved to get in her car, and a small, slightly awkward silence fell between the two.

Katjaa wouldn't blame him if he didn't make a move, but another smaller part of her wanted to see if he'd actually be brave enough to do it.

Kenny inhaled deeply, holding his breath as he decided that it was now or never. So, exhaling a bit shakily, he moved in towards her. He was about to settle on giving her a peck on the cheek, but changed his mind at the last second, moving to place a kiss on her lips.

When their lips met, instead of pulling away like Kenny would fear she would do, Katjaa returned the light kiss, leaning towards Kenny a bit, deepening the kiss ever-so-slightly.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it almost seemed to leave the two breathless.

Wider smiles appeared on both of their faces now, and despite some of the embarrassing, and awkward moments the two had shared on their date, it seemed to have ended well.

"Thanks again, again for a wonderful night," Katjaa said, barely above a whisper as she removed herself from Kenny's embrace, and stepping back to get in her car. "Good night, Kenny."

"You too," Kenny replied. "Good night, Katjaa. Sleep well."

After saying their parting words, Katjaa got into her car, started it up, and drove out of the parking lot.

Kenny had already started heading back over to his truck, and before getting in, he did another quick victory dance. The date had been a success, and he'd managed to get a kiss! He wasn't sure how much luckier he could've been!

He was suddenly very eager to set up their next date. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but he found that he really did like being around Katjaa. She was sweet, and so calm-natured. He couldn't help but think of how lucky he was to have met her. And that's when he mentally thanked that octopus for bringing the two of them together.


	3. Our Big Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Kenny and Katjaa's wedding day, and Katjaa's nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a long time ago, so some things might not be grammatically correct. I tried to fix my errors, however, some of them probably slipped through the cracks.

She could do this.  
  
Katjaa knew that she could do this.  
  
Gulping hard, she stood, waiting her turn to move. The bouquet she held was squeezed in one of her hands like a death grip, the other clutched desperately at her father's arm. The last of her bridesmaids had just walked out, and soon after, the little flower girl trailed a few paces behind them, tossing flower petals precariously to the floor.

The soft melody of pianos and violins and flutes grew louder, announcing her arrival, but her feet were nailed to the floor, and she was frozen in place. She couldn't hear anything after a moment, not the music, not the voices behind her, nothing but the beating of her rapid heart in her ears. The blood rose up quickly to her head, pooling in her cheeks, and turning them a dark crimson.  
  
Suddenly, she was feeling very lightheaded and she thought she might faint in that very spot.

She'd zoned out, staring at the double doors like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, her father gave her arm a light tug, breaking her out of whatever trance she was in.

"Schat, ben je in orde?" He'd whispered to her, to which she gave a slightly uneasy nod. "J-ja…"

"Come on, Katjaa. You were supposed to be walking down the aisle already!" the wedding planner she'd hired prompted in a hushed tone, moving back to the double doors to open them for the blonde.

With a light nod, Katjaa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, adjusting the bouquet in her hand.

"Ready?" the wedding planner asked after a few seconds.

"Ready…"

"Okay, annnddd…. _go_."

The doors were pushed open, and the blonde's father placed his free hand gently over the one she had wrapped around his arm, trying to calm her nerves. She looked to him, smiling softly, and tried as best she could to shove the nervousness in her gut down. Then, she took her first step forward, soon walking in unison with her father.

"Laat me niet vallen, pap," she whispered as subtly as she could, while still trying to smile and not look as nauseous as she felt.

"Ik wil niet."

The aisle seemed to go on forever, and Katjaa felt like no matter how far she walked, Kenny only seemed to get further and further away.

A wave of relief washed over her when her father was finally handing her over, though her stomach was still riddled with knots.

As she studied Kenny's face, she saw, even through his happiness, that he was just as nervous as she was. It relieved her a little bit, but then, the thought that she was about to commit to this man, and spend the rest of her life with him made the butterflies in her stomach start fluttering around again.

"You look so beautiful," Kenny murmured quietly as he looked down at her.

"And you look very handsome," she'd whispered back, as the music finally died down and the minister began to speak.

The ceremony drew on, both Katjaa and Kenny repeating after the man when needed, and then finally:

"Do you, Kenneth, take Katjaa to be your wife – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Do you Katjaa take Kenneth to be your husband – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"What token of your love do you offer? Would you place the rings in my hand?" Thus, the ring barer handed them over.

"May these rings be blessed as the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go – may they always return to one another. May these two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home which they establish together be filled with the same love, passion, and understanding."

Upon handing the rings to Katjaa and Kenny, the two exchanged them, both murmuring one right after the other:

"With this ring, I wed thee."

Followed by a few more finishing words from the minister, he finally said, "you may now kiss the bride."

Suddenly, all of the nervousness vanished as their lips met, and the biggest, and quite possibly stupidest looking smiles formed on both of their faces as they pulled away. The music started up again, and numerous cheers, cries, and applauds came from their families and friends.

If Katjaa had to pick one of her most favorite moments in her life, marrying Kenny was definitely one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations in order: "Honey, are you okay?"
> 
> "Y-yes."
> 
> "Don't let me fall, Dad."
> 
> "I won't."


	4. Welcome To The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New parents, Kenny and Katjaa, welcome their new baby into the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like the previous chapter, I wrote this a long time ago, and I've tried to fix any errors that I've found, but I wouldn't be surprised if some have slipped through the cracks.

"K-Ken—! … Ken, get up!" Katjaa gave her husband a shake.

"Nnnghh…huh..?" With a groan, and groggy expression, Kenny's tired eyes peeled open, peering over at his wife.

"The baby," she went on to say, "the baby's coming..! I— I think my water broke."

At hearing this, whatever sleepiness that overwhelmed him before, completely vanished, and he shot up in bed, hastily kicking the covers away.  
  
"Wh-what?!" He was up on his feet in an instant, and hurriedly rushed over to her side. "Shit, shit, shit, shit! C'mon we gotta—!"

"Kenny, calm down," Katjaa managed to mutter, though the pain of the contractions that were only beginning to get worse.

"Calm down?! How do you expect me to— C-C'mon Kat, we gotta get you to the hospital!" He didn't even give her time to respond before he took hold of her hand and began tugging her out of the room and to the front door.

Once out the door, he spent about two or three whole minutes helping Kat into the passenger's seat of his truck and futzing over her seat belt despite her protests that she was perfectly capable of buckling herself in.

"Kenny," she'd finally snapped, actually getting through to him this time, "I'm fine! I can do this myself! Just get in!"

Without any protest, the Floridian did as he was told, and closed Katjaa's door before literally running around to the driver's side and getting in. Buckling in, and starting up the truck, he pulled out of their driveway and drove as fast as he dared to above the speed limit.

By the time they reached the hospital, Katjaa was wrecked in pain, groaning and moaning and all but yelling like a banshee. Pulling into a parking space, Kenny jumped out and once again ran around the truck to Katjaa's side, Swinging open the door and helping her out.

As soon as they were inside, nurses rushed to help, easing Katjaa into a wheelchair and wheeling her into the nearest delivery room with Kenny right on their heels.

Within no time, they were ushered into a room and Katjaa had Kenny's hand in a death grip. "Jesus Kat," he'd cried out, "you're gonna squeeze my hand off!" He gave a small, feeble attempt to pull his hand away, but it was no use; it wasn't going to budge.

Weak-kneed from the pain, he found himself supporting his body against the bed that Katjaa laid on.

"C'mon, Mrs. Martin, push!" the woman at the edge of the bed ordered, and Katjaa complied, pushing all that she could. "Good, good, just one more push!"

With the last and final push, Katjaa's cries and death grip on Kenny's hand lessened; her wails being replaced with the ones from their newborn baby.

Kenny watched as the baby was passed from nurse to doctor, and doctor to nurse, hardly even noticing that his wife had released his hand this point.  
  
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Martin, it's a healthy baby boy!"

Finally, the baby was handed over to the new parents, and placed into Katjaa's arms. She cradled the tiny pink human close against her chest, staring down at him awestruck. Overjoyed tears started to pool in her eyes, and a few already began to roll down her cheeks.

"Hey babe," she murmured, voice slightly hoarse from all of the screaming she'd done earlier, "you're so beautiful…"

"He gets that from you, ya know," Kenny chimed in, leaning forward to peer over Katjaa's shoulder at his new son. Katjaa's teary gaze flickered from their baby, to her husband, and back again.

"Don't be ridiculous. He looks just like you…" A soft smile formed on her lips, and she chuckled lightly, whispering to the infant, "That's right, you look just like your daddy, don't you?"

Slowly, the baby's eyes opened, before staring widely up at his parents. "Nah, he looks a lot like you, too, Kat," Kenny murmured, his own voice cracking and eyes watering, just as overjoyed by their baby's arrival as his wife was.

Gently, Katjaa caressed the baby's cheek with her index finger. "Welcome to the world, little one…"

"I hope you like yer stay here," Kenny added, his own hand reaching out to lightly graze against his son's pink flesh. Then, suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. "What're we gonna name 'em?"

"I thought we'd already agreed on names." Katjaa looked over at him. "Kennedy if it was a girl, and Kenny Jr. if it was a boy…"

"Yeah, but… Are you sure you wanna name 'em after me? Why not you?"

Katjaa just smiled and shook her head, dismissing his question. "I don't want people to have to try and guess how to pronounce my baby's name; the same way you used to butcher mine…"

Kenny's cheeks flushed lightly at this reminder, but he tried hard to hide his chagrin. "Right…"

"Besides," Katjaa continued, "I think he looks like a Kenny Jr, don't you...?"

"Yeah, I guess yer right…"

"Good, then it's settled…"

Kenny knew better than to argue with his wife; he'd never win. He never did most times, anyway.  
  
Besides, the more he looked at their son, the more the name grew on him.  
  
_Kenny Jr…_  
  
Kenny couldn't help but hope that their son would like that name. It'd be stuck with him forever.

Though that thought soon vanished, replaced by the thought of how lucky they both really were, and how drastically their lives were about to change. They had a baby now, and nothing would ever be the same again. It wasn't a bad change, if anything it was an amazing one. They were parents now… And the more the two of them thought about that, and the more that they gazed down at their son, the happier they became; the more their hearts swelled with an overwhelming love.


	5. Sketching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That picture was supposed to be one of Lee and Clementine?” Kenny asked, actually chuckling this time.
> 
> Katjaa frowned at him. “Ken, you know that I’m no good at drawing.”
> 
> \--
> 
> Katjaa and Clementine draw together for a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original publication of this drabble was November 23, 2012. I have since cleaned it up a bit and have decided to share it here.

Kenny and Lee had just returned to the Motor Inn not too long ago and since returning, Kenny and Katjaa had spent most of their time together arguing. It had been over guns, with Katjaa saying that she didn’t like it, and Kenny saying that they had to use them regardless.

“Hey you two, how’re you doing?” It was Lee. The pair turned their attention to him.

“We’re fine,” Katjaa replied.

“Just having a little spat,” Kenny added.

“We all carry guns now, and well... I don’t like it.” Katjaa sighed softly. She had never been one for weapons or violence, and with everyone around her carrying guns now, it made her a little nervous. What if someone got into an argument and someone got shot or–

“It’s the way it’s gotta be,” Kenny interjected, looking over at his wife once again.

Katjaa locked eyes with Kenny for a few moments before looking down and letting out a sigh. “I know, but I’m not getting used to it.” Shaking her head, she then turned to Lee. “I’m sorry... How are you, Lee?”

“I’m fine,” the man responded. “Just uh, can I talk to you for a minute, Kenny?”

 

Katjaa was left to her own devices then. Looking around, she spotted Clementine, noticing that the little girl seemed to be drawing something.

Despite her previous disposition, Katjaa felt herself smiling lightly at the sight. She  _still_ prayed for the day where kids could just be kids again.

 

Rising to her feet, she walked over to the child. “Hello Clementine, how are you?” she greeted kindly, and the girl looked up from her drawing and smiled.

“I’m fine. Just drawing Lee and me,” she replied, setting down her crayon, and picking up the paper for Katjaa to see. “See?”

Katjaa studied the paper before nodding. “I see, it’s very nice.”

“I was thinking about drawing you, Kenny, and Duck after I’m finished with this one.” Clementine informed her, taking the paper back and resuming coloring it.

“Oh?” Katjaa raised her eyebrows. “That’s very nice of you.” The warm smile on her lips only grew.

“Would you like to draw with me?”

“Um,” the question caught Katjaa by surprise, “sure, that would be nice. ... I’m really not as talented at drawing as you are though,” she admitted, lowering herself onto the ground and crossing her legs.

“That’s okay,” Clementine chirped. “You don’t have to be good at it, just try.”

“Alright, I’ll...  _Try._ ” Katjaa didn't have high hopes for turning out with anything  _good._ After all, the most she could ever draw were stick figures. But for Clementine, she’d try.

“How about if I draw you, Kenny, and Duck, you draw Lee and me?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Katjaa agreed with a nod.

Clementine handed her a piece of paper and a few crayons, and the two set about drawing.

Katjaa wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when she was finally finished, she came to the realization that her drawing wasn’t anywhere near satisfactory. She frowned down at it. You could hardly tell that it was Clementine and Lee, but maybe the little girl would still like it.

Shortly after, Clementine set down her crayons, and glanced over at Katjaa, announcing that she was finished.

“Me too.”

“Wanna see?”

“Sure.”

They exchanged drawings then, Katjaa turning her attention to the drawing in her hand. Unsurprisingly, it was nicely drawn and incredibly cute.

“Do you like it?” Clem asked, and Katjaa set the drawing down and smiled over at her.

“Yes, it’s very good. I like it.” She paused, but then asked, “What...do you think of mine?”

“I liked it!”

“Really?” Katjaa couldn't hide her surprise. She knew that children never sugarcoated anything;  _brutally honest,_ but even so, she couldn't help but wondering if Clem was just saying that to be nice.

“Yeah, it was nice! And you at least tried!”

That much was true at least. The vet did try, even if it still didn’t turn out nice like she wanted it to. Nevertheless, Clementine seemed to _truly_ like it and that was all that she found herself caring about.

“I’m glad that you liked it.”

 

“What’re you ladies up to?” They turned their attention upwards to find that Kenny had walked over.

“Clementine and I were just drawing.”

“Oh really?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Can I see?”

Katjaa reluctantly handed him the paper. “Sure...”

She watched as he looked over at the paper, and by the way his lips curved upward, twitching a bit, she could tell that he wanted to chuckle. Surprisingly enough, he didn't laugh at her.

“It looks.. N-nice, Hon.” Katjaa felt her eyes narrow at him then, almost as if to _dare_ him to laugh at her.

“Well I really liked it,” Clementine spoke up. “I can tell that it’s Lee and me, and I even drew a picture of You, Katjaa, and Duck!” She handed him her drawing.

He looked it over, and the smile on his lips stayed, but changed ever-so-slightly; a more thoughtful expression becoming present.

“That’s really nice of you, Clem.” He smiled down at her, handing back the drawing.

Clementine shook her head. “I want you guys to keep it, okay?”

After a small pause, Kenny nodded and offered a smile. “Alright, thanks.”

“That’s very nice of you, Clementine,” Katjaa added, before standing up again. “And I want you to keep the one I drew for you and Lee, alright?”

“I will!” The girl nodded. “We should draw together again sometime!”

Katjaa nodded, smiling. “I would like that.”

 

By that time, Lee had made his way over to talk to Clem, so Katjaa and Kenny dismissed themselves and moved back over to their places on the couch from earlier.

“That picture was supposed to be one of Lee and Clementine?” Kenny asked, actually chuckling this time.

Katjaa frowned at him. “Ken, you know that I’m no good at drawing.”

“I know, I know. I'm just messin’ with ya, Hon. Sorry.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, and patted it reassuringly.

“It’s okay,” Katjaa replied, shaking her head with a light smile. Leaning over, she placed a chaste kiss to his stubbly cheek. "I know." 


	6. Milkshake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katjaa and Duck go out for ice cream after church.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original publication of this drabble was December 3, 2012. I have since then cleaned it up a bit and decided to share it on here.

Every other Sunday after church, when Kenny was out on his boat, Katjaa would take Duck out to a little diner near their house for lunch and a milkshake. The two would always order the same thing, a burger platter, a strawberry milkshake for Katjaa and a chocolate one for Duck. It was one of the ways that the two bonded. With Kenny gone more often than any of them would've liked, it left plenty of time for mother-son bonding.

Katjaa considered every day that she spent with her son to be a precious one. She enjoyed the time they spent together, even when one of the only things they did on Sundays was going to the diner.

 

Upon entering the diner, the two sat in their usual spot. They didn’t even have to tell the waitress what they wanted. They were here often enough that she already knew.

“Mom, do we have to go to church every Sunday?” Duck asked as the two sat down in the booth.

“Yes, Ducky,” she replied. “We do.”

“But why?” Duck asked with a frown. He had never been able to sit still in church, as most children couldn’t. “Why can’t we just come here in the mornings?”

“Duck, we’ve discussed this before,” Katjaa sighed lightly. She knew that her son was bored in church, and he fell asleep in his chair quite often, but she couldn’t just leave him at home. “Why? Do you not like going?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.” Duck sighed dismissively. "I  _guess_ I don't mind it... It's just kind of boring sometimes."

Katjaa didn't hold it against him for thinking that. She made a mental note to see about maybe going a bit less often than they usually did. 

Before she could say anything else, Duck met her gaze and beat her to it. “I really like coming here.” He grinned.

“Me too.” She smiled back at him. “I’m glad that you like it here.”

“Yeah, the milkshakes are awesome!”

“Yeah they are, aren’t they?”

“Chocolate’s the best!”

“You think so?” She laughed lightly. “I always liked _strawberry_  the best.”

Duck made a face, complete with gagging noise. “Uck. I don’t like strawberry.”

Katjaa could only laugh at her son’s expression.

“Oh, no? It's not _that_ bad!”

“Yes it is! Its—Ooh! The food’s here!”

The waitress had returned to their table and set their orders down in front of them. They thanked her and the waitress nodded before sauntering away from the table to help someone else.

“Is your burger good?” Katjaa asked as she watched her son dig in.

The boy couldn’t speak, so he only nodded vigorously.

Katjaa suppressed a chuckle. “Good.”

The two didn’t speak much, and when they did, it was tiny little comments here and there. Duck was too busy stuffing his face--to which Katjaa told him to slow down before he choked--to really speak at all, and Katjaa wasn’t going to say anything that would make him try to speak with his mouth full.

When they finally finished everything, Duck grinned at his mother, and she already knew what he was going to ask before the words even left his mouth.

“Can I have my milkshake now?” he asked eagerly.

"Alright, alright." Katjaa cast a smile at him before flagging the waitress over.

She asked if they wanted dessert and Duck spoke before Katjaa could. “Two milkshakes like usual! One chocolate and one—uck— _strawberry_!”

"Actually,” Katjaa interjected, “just make that  _one_  chocolate milkshake.”

"Wait, what?” Duck looked over at his mother incredously. “You aren’t getting one this time? Why not?”

“I just don’t have the money to buy us both one this time,” Katjaa admitted finally. “So why don’t you just get your chocolate one, okay?”

The waitress started scribbling the order down. “Alright, so just one chocolate one th—”

“—No, no, no!” Duck cut her off. “Make it one  _strawberry_ one!”

Katjaa and the waitress both blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure, sweetie?” Katjaa asked. “You don't even like strawberry—”

“Yeah, but  _you_  do,” he replied. “Since we can't have both, I thought we could share, and I know how much you like strawberry sooo…” He trailed off, and Katjaa suddenly felt the urge to wrap her arms around her son and pull him into a tight hug. She probably would have had it not been for the table the sat between them.

"That’s very sweet of you.” Katjaa smiled warmly at him.

“Alright,” the waitress spoke up. “One strawberry milkshake coming up!”

Once she disappeared, Katjaa spoke.

“Honey, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to!” Duck grinned at her. “Next time if you only have enough money for one milkshake we can get chocolate, okay?”

Katjaa chuckled softly and nodded. “Alright,” she agreed. “We’ll get a chocolate one next time.”

“But hopefully next time we’ll have enough money for two of them.” Duck spoke after a minute, and Katjaa chuckled again.

“I hope so too.”

When the milkshake was finally placed in front of them, the two dug in. Katjaa let Duck eat most of it, not minding at all.

“Y'know… Next time, I think it would be nice if dad could join us.”

Katjaa smiled warmly at the thought, and looked to her son’s ice cream covered face with kind eyes.

“So do I.”


End file.
